Biden has offered more pro-immigrant rhetoric, but he maintains Trump's discriminatory policies that effectively bar most refugees from African/Muslim countries. Biden announced he'd reverse these policies in early Feb, and then never signed the paperwork. washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
If anything, monthly refugee admissions have *slowed* since Biden took office
Trump signed his FY2021 refugee ceiling ("presidential determination") late, on 10/27/20 (FY began 10/1). In Trump's last full month in office, Dec, 598 refugees were admitted
In March, under Biden: 271
That's not b/c no refugees were ready to come here. In March, State Dept booked & canceled flights for 715 refugees who would have qualified under new admissions criteria Biden announced but then never signed. Thousands more considered "travel-ready" by State Dept in early March.
Amount of wagon-circling on the left for Biden on this completely unexplained and harmful delay is disappointing. Unlike w/ border issue or other thorny immigration problems, Biden has almost plenary power here, can fix problem immediately, and has refused to do the right thing
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Still no explanation for why Biden hasn't signed the paperwork, which he said he'd do back in Feb.
And to be clear: issue isn't only raising "cap"; it's also removing discriminatory restrictions Trump put in place, which effectively barred refugees from Muslim & African countries
It will be difficult to fill even the ultra-low 15k "cap" currently in place, if these restrictive criteria remain. In fact Biden is now on track to admit fewest refugees in a fiscal year of any POTUS since the modern refugee program began (this record currently belongs to Trump)
As of March 31, only 2,050 refugees have been admitted in FY 2021. Fiscal year is half over. So if same pace continues, we would expect ~4,100 refugees resettled here by end of FY.
In FY 2020, under Trump, 11,814 refugees were admitted -- and that was a record low.
This from State is nonsense
Scaling up refugee cap to 125k next FY, as Biden says he wants to do, takes planning. But lifting Trump discriminatory restrictions for THIS year? Easy. Refugees already screened & ready to go. Biden just needs to sign paperwork apnews.com/article/donald…
Only 2,050 refugees have been admitted thus far this year. Year is halfway over. If pace continues & Trump’s discriminatory refugee restrictions remain in place, Biden is on track to admit lowest number of refugees in a FY of any POTUS since the modern refugee program began.
Right now, record for fewest refugees admitted belongs to Trump, with 11,841 resettled in FY 2020. But hard to imagine how Biden could possibly avoid claiming that distinction this fiscal year, since he's left in place the even-more-draconian policies Trump implemented on way out
There's been a lot of commentary about how Biden is ushering in a new era of robust, active government, hearkening back to New Deal/Great Society/pre-Reagan days. Worth noting that Americans' appetite for bigger govt seems to predate his election win. 🧵
E.g., since 1992, Gallup has been asking whether government should do more to solve the country's problems. Last Aug/Sep, for the first time ever, more than half of respondents (54%) agreed. The previous peak was shortly after 9/11, when it hit 50%.
Of course Biden was running for president at the time, and pitching many of the policies he's rolling out now. But...we were also in a pandemic. If there are no atheists in a foxhole, there are also presumably (fewer) libertarians in a pandemic.
So...why hasn't the president raised the refugee admissions ceiling and lifted Trump's discriminatory criteria, as Biden announced he would do 6 weeks ago? Trump's policies remain in place. washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
Fewer than 2000 refugees have been admitted thus far this year. If this pace continues & Trump administration’s discriminatory refugee restrictions remain in place, Biden is on track to admit the lowest number of refugees of any US president since the modern refugee program began
Literally all Biden needs to do is sign some paperwork. The refugees themselves, who have been waiting for years, have already been screened & vetted by UN & US officials. Hundreds were booked and then unbooked for travel, b/c State Dept thought paperwork would be signed by now
Huge decline (6.8%) in high school graduates attending college immediately after high school this past fall. Biggest declines among students from high-poverty, low-income and high-minority schools. nscresearchcenter.org/wp-content/upl…
Enrollment declines by type of postsecondary institution, for students from low-income vs. high-income high schools.
Community college enrollment of students from low-income high schools down 18%
Data on FAFSA completions through early March (via @NCANetwork) suggest college applications for next fall may also be way down among students from high schools with high shares of low-income and minority kids. formyourfuture.org/fafsa-tracker/
Roughly twice a year, I get emails from students assigned to read a newspaper columnist's work for an English class. It is very flattering to end up in someone's curriculum! I had an assignment like this back in the day, and it's weird to be on the other end of it. /1
Part of the standard assignment today seems to be emailing the writer and getting them to respond to a question of some kind. Often the student does this by sending vague or abstract questions that take some time for me to figure out how to respond to. (See screen grab.) /2
Given other things on my plate, these requests often get pushed to the bottom of my inbox, and I end up responding late or never, which I feel lousy about. And probably the students are annoyed too. /3